[91.07] Magellanic Stream probes density of the Galactic Halo

The Magellanic Stream consists of discrete clumps of gas
stretching from the Magellanic System towards our own
galaxy. This gas consists primarily of neutral Hydrogen and
is thought to have originated from the Large and Small
Magellanic Clouds as a result of, most likely, tidal
interactions with the Milky Way. The 21-cm observations of
two regions in the Stream were carried out at Arecibo
Observatory in summers of 2000 and 2001, enabling,
up-to-date, the most detailed images of these regions. These
maps reveal the small-scale morphology of the Stream and
allow us to probe the density of the Galactic Halo. Assuming
that the clumps within the Stream are pressure confined by
the hot Halo gas, estimated properties of the Stream gas
place limits on the Halo density.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address
for comments about the abstract:
mkrco@mail.colgate.edu